Council backs firing police chiefCLARKSVILLE — The Clarksville City Council unanimously approved backing the mayor's decision to fire Police Chief Greg Donaldson during its regular meeting Tuesday. A crowd of Clarksville residents packed City Hall for the meeting with dozens lining the walls outside council chambers after the room was filled. Dozens more gathered around a laptop and speakers used to live stream meetings. Shortly after the meeting began, City Clerk Barbara Bla...

The race is on (Feb. 8, 2015)Editor’s note: Will Berry is a member of the board of directors for the RussVegas Half Marathon and Relay. He will write a column about various topics relating to the half-marathon in the weeks leading up to the April 10-11 event. This week he did a Q & A with two of the winners from last year’s event. Carson Miller, 19, of Dover was the 2014 RussVegas Overall Winner with a time of 1:18:52. How long have you been running? I ran my first race w...

Historic building renovated as living unitsWhat once housed visitors for less than $1 per night is now functioning to revitalize historic downtown Russellville. Jimmy Streett and Shane Butler have transformed the 1920s-era building from a hotel — and everything in between — to commercial and residential units. Streett said renovated historic buildings across the downtown area are bringing more than character. “This is what makes downtown Russellville unique,” Streett said. “This is the...

In a race against cancerAlthough the average morning commute is hampered by trains and stoplights, nothing but the sound of his own footsteps alters Victor Prati’s route in Russellville. Each day, either before or after work, Prati runs to raise awareness for children’s cancer research. He said it was the least he could do for his 3-year-old daughter, Zola, who is in remission from liver cancer. Averaging more than 3 miles every day, Prati said he plans to run 100 da...

Johnson County roads improvements approvedThe Arkansas Highway Commission approved bids for street improvements in Johnson County, the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) stated in a news release. "The purpose of the project is to resurface and rehabilitate 1.7 miles of roadway in Knoxville and 1.2 miles in Hartman," the release stated. Blackstone Construction, LLC of Russellville was awarded the $363,784 contract. If weather permits, construction could begin w...

Nearly 1,700 vote early in Senate runoffThe Pope County Election Commission reported 1,681 voted during the first week of early voting in the runoff election for the District 16 State Senate seat. During January's special election, 1,765 Pope County residents voted early. Greg Standridge of Russellville and Stan Berry of Dover received the most votes last month, but neither garnered the more than 50 percent necessary to avoid a runoff. Standridge received nearly 48 percent of the vo...

Clarksville police chief terminatedCLARKSVILLE — The Clarksville Police Department confirmed that after eight years serving as police chief, Greg Donaldson was terminated by Mayor Mark Simpson late Wednesday. A department representative, who declined to give her name, said she didn't want to comment further. "That's all there is," she said. Donaldson said he wasn't given a reason for the termination and speculated it may be related to him wanting to fill three vacancies in the ...

Dover denies sewer line tapThe Dover City Council denied a request from Pope County Surveyor David Garza for a tap on the city sewer line on Field Street during its regular meeting Tuesday. The council denied the request on the grounds that the location was “far outside” the city limits. Mayor Pat Johnson said he had promised he would bring the request to the council, even though he knew it was counter to a policy adopted in 2010. “As you can see,” he said, referring to...

Local couple detects fraudulent ad onlineWhen a local couple wanted to purchase a vehicle, they turned to a common source for buying and selling these days — Craigslist, an online classified ad service. The couple, who asked to not be named, became alarmed when they saw two nearly-identical ads for sports utility vehicles with listed prices well under the values listed in Kelley Blue Book, a well-known vehicle valuation and automotive research company. The seller in both ads describe...

Sidewalk meeting packs City HallResidents, city officials and members of the Arkansas Tech University (ATU) community packed Russellville City Hall on Tuesday to discuss the proposed sidewalk along East O Street from North Greenwich Avenue to North Arkansas Avenue. City Engineer/Public Works Director Kurt Jones gave a brief presentation of the current design then addressed the public's comments and answered questions. Jones said the current design — an 8-foot multi-use aspha...

City unveils new websiteAfter undergoing a seven-month redesign, the city unveiled its new interactive website — www.rsvlar.org — on Friday. CivicPlus, a government website provider, completed the redesign process for the city. The website includes online forms, facility reservations, online job applications and a "notify me" application along with a "cleaner, easier layout to navigate," James Hodge, city webmaster, said in a news release. Hodge said residents and ci...

Sheriff's office adds to investigation divisionThe Pope County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) added two members to its Criminal Investigation Division (CID) this week. Russell Hill was promoted from deputy to CID investigator and Jacob "Dain" Yarbrough was hired to be lieutenant supervisor of CID. Hill has been in law enforcement for five years. He started his career at the Russellville Police Department (RPD) before he joined the PCSO in July 2012. "He will be a great asset to the investigation ...

Beware of tax scamsThe Pope County Sheriff's Office warned residents of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scam. People have received calls purportedly from the IRS, demanding money or the resident will be arrested, according to reports to Sheriff Shane Jones. "The caller states that if the money is not sent in immediately, the local sheriff will come to the person's residence and assist in collecting the money or will arrest the resident," the PCSO said in a new...

The Landing on trackIt’s been more than eight months since a Tennessee developer came to Russellville and told city officials he wanted to build his first convention center and hotel development here. Nearly six months ago, David Hunt, CEO of Hunt Properties, submitted a contract to construct The Landing in Russellville. To the casual observer, it may seem that nothing has happened since that special city council meeting — not to mention a 120-day deadline has ex...

Public invited to weigh in on sidewalkRussellville residents are invited to ask questions or make comments during a public hearing regarding a proposed bicycle/pedestrian path from 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday in the downstairs conference room of City Hall. The proposed bicycle/pedestrian path would be constructed along East O Street from North Greenwich Avenue to North Arkansas Avenue. "We want to get something built out there," Public Works Director/City Engineer Kurt Jones said. "There'...

PHS raises funds for March of DimesPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville High School (PHS) Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) spent some time this year focused on charitable organizations. It recently conducted a fundraiser for the March of Dimes Foundation. The March of Dimes is a global organization whose mission is to "help moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies." Through the FBLA's efforts, PHS was able to donate $544.82 to...

Commission rezones property, vacates alleyThe Russellville Planning Commission approved rezoning a property and vacating an alley during its regular meeting Monday. Commissioners unanimously approved rezoning property at 302 W. 10th St. from manufactured home park or subdivision (C-4) to medium-density residential district (R-2). City Planner David Harris said the rezoning "makes perfect sense" and will make the property "more in line with surrounding properties." The request was subm...

Patel named Citizen of the YearNick Patel was named the 2014 Citizen of the Year at the Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Membership Celebration and Banquet Thursday at The Center for the Arts. Kamrie Ewing, the 2013 Citizen of the Year, presented Patel the award. He is the general manager of the Super 8 and has called Russellville home since the early 2000s. Tonya Gosnell, community education manager at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center, was named the Red C...